Firefly: Final Flight
by trekkiebrowncoatwhovian
Summary: Mal and the Serenity crew find themselves in the middle of a gang war against the alliance, and it turns out more is at stake than they thought. Pre-BDM, post Objects In Space
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

_Serenity _flew low over the desert of Bellerophon, with two Alliance gunships hot on her tail. On the bridge, Wash controlled the ship with a steady hand, as a missile exploded close to the ship. "_Hóuzi de pìgu lièfèng_!" he exclaimed as the shockwave hit the ship broadside. Mal ran onto the bridge. "Wash, get us the gorram hell out of here!" Wash replied with a grim look on his face. "Working on it."

"Wash, if the Fed's get us with that cargo on board, we're in a bigger pile of _gǒupì _than you'll ever see!"

Wash was about to reply when Kaylee's worried voice broke onto the radio. "Cap'n, I don't think _Serenity _can take much more of this!" Mal looked at Wash. "What about a 'Crazy Ivan'?"

"If the engine is in as bad a state as Kaylee says, then we wouldn't even be able to pull off a regular Ivan, whatever that is." Suddenly, just as Mal left the bridge, the windows on the bridge shattered as a missile exploded close to _Serenity. _The ship pitched at a steep angle towards the ground. Glass flew everywhere, and Mal was thrown into the bulkhead. As consciousness left him, he saw the red rock of the desert coming towards him as _Serenity _fell out of the sky.


	2. Chapter 1

_T__he windows on the bridge shattered as a missile exploded close to Serenity. The ship pitched at a steep angle towards the ground. Glass flew everywhere, and Mal was thrown into the bulkhead. As consciousness left him, he saw the red rock of the desert coming towards him as Serenity fell out of the sky._

**48 Hours Earlier**

**_Serenity_**

_Serenity _flew through Persephone's bright blue sky, gently setting down at her usual spot at the Eavesdown docks. Seconds after she touched down, the cargo bay door opened, letting the sun shine on the assembled crew and passengers in the hold. Simon Tam, the ship's resident physician and fugitive was the first to speak. "Ah, bright, beautiful sun. For about a second before we go into hiding again." The smile on his face faded. Kaylee, the mechanic, turned to him and smiled. Don't worry, I'll still bring you back something nice." She then glared mockingly at Mal, their captain. "If _he_ doesn't get himself stabbed again…" On one of their previous visits to Persephone, Mal had gotten into a duel with prestigious not-so-nobleman Atherton Wing, and been injured badly. Mal smiled at Kaylee as if she were his younger sister. He then looked up, and let his emotion slide back to where he hid them. "Alright folks, Zoe, Jayne, and me will see what Badger wants. All the rest of you stay back here with _Serenity_." He signaled to Zoe, the first mate, and Jayne, the hired muscle. They started to leave the ship, but Wash, the pilot and Zoe's husband stopped Zoe for a moment. "_Yào xiǎoxīn. Huān kěnéng shì wéixiǎn de_." She smiled back at him. "Don't worry, I will be." She then ran to catch up with Mal and Jayne.

Back in the cargo bay, Simon sat with Kaylee on top of a crate of goods to be delivered to St. Albans, telling her about a patient he had had back on Osiris. As he was about to get to the punch line, a small, light voice said "It's just an object…" Despite the gentleness of the voice, it startled Simon, making him jump off the crate in surprise. "River! How did you get out of your room? You're not supposed to be out here!" He said, rubbing his head, after it had slammed into the deck. "I picked the lock, and the birds flew away…" She replied with a smile. Simon quickly got up off the floor and ferried River back to her quarters. A few minutes later, he returned. Shepherd Book was the first one to speak. "You know, Simon, it may be good for her to have some fresh air." Simon replied with a grimace. "We're on the run Shepherd, I don't think we should go outside where Alliance patrols can see us and take her back to that horrible place." He turned away from Book and grabbed his red medikit from the top of the crate next to Kaylee, then walked back into the infirmary.

**Badger's Hideout**

"Well, look who it is; Mr. Malcolm Reynolds and his motley crew of smugglers." Said Badger with a smile. "We're here to do business, not to fight." Countered Mal. "You said you had a job for us. We're here to get it." Badger paced back and forth in front of his desk. "You see, it's not me who has the job for you… it's him." Badger pointed behind his desk, where a wheelchair was emerging from behind a curtain. Sitting in the wheelchair was a surprisingly well-dressed older gentleman. Mal's confident smile turned to a face of fear and hate.

"Niska."


End file.
